Saturday 27 March 2010

Link: Srikumar Rao: Plug into your hard-wired happiness

Sunday 21 March 2010

Link: Happiness wards off heart disease

Being happy and staying positive may help ward off heart disease, a study suggests.

US researchers monitored the health of 1,700 people over 10 years, finding the most anxious and depressed were at the highest risk of the disease.

Read the full article here... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8520549.stm

Saturday 20 March 2010

My first experience of India

2 weeks in India from Michael Roberts on Vimeo.

Monday 15 March 2010

Link: Make Poverty History

Sunday 14 March 2010

Link: Walking Away with an Open Heart

I was on my lunch break in the city, enjoying a salad at an outdoor cafe, when a disheveled homeless lady came walking towards me. She was yelling and begging everyone who walked past her for spare change and she looked like a mess. My instant reaction was fear... to close off and hope she didn't come near me, but she did. I was on the phone and when she came over yelling, I said, "I'm on the phone," in the nicest way I could, assuring myself what she needed was a lesson in manners. After all, that is rude to interrupt someone and I have very little money as it is, if she only knew and on and on... She walked away, mumbling, "I'm annoying you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll leave." And she turned the corner.

Normally, I would feel relieved or satisfied, but something in me couldn't rest. Without another thought, I looked in my wallet for the spare change I had. It was just dimes and pennies, but I found a few and was going to give them to her. Suddenly, something amazing happened. I started searching through my entire purse, the bottom, the pockets, everything - for ALL of the change I could possibly find to give, and something in me cracked. It felt like my heart broke and poured open and the restlessness abruptly stopped.

Read the full post here... http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=11242

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Hempi

Hempi is hot! So hot! Barely a breeze most of the time. Multiple power cuts each day/night so the fans often stop too. Surrounded by piles and piles of rocks, it was actually used as the set for The Flintstones movie. Steeped in history with many ancient buildings and temples all around dating back to the 13th century. A short scooter ride away is a beautiful reservoir where we can swim and get a break from the heat. Paddy fields all around and oxen pulling carts down the street. The children seem as happy as anywhere but ask for money at every meeting.
Back on the train to Goa now for the first leg of my journey home to Dubai. No luck uploading in Hempi so these posts will be a little delayed. After a week or so without issue I now have some stomach problems. It wouldn't be India without it!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday 4 March 2010

The Beach Life

Waking up each day when the temperature gets too hot to sleep anymore. Freshen up in the ensuite, meditation to waken the mind, then step out of my shack onto a beautiful golden beach.
Puppies are living right outside my door. They stay near their mother, sleeping in the hot hours, and playing when it's cooler. There are many dogs here - street dogs and beach dogs - as well as cats, pigs, cows, and chickens all roaming free. Cows even make good use of the roads to get about and only seem to cause accidents occassionally.
A few feet from my shack is Sanjay's, where you can get anything you want from porridge with banana to clean laundry or a taxi to the airport. You could easily chill out at Sanjay's all day, and some people do, but there is a beautiful blue sea gently lapping a long golden beach that stretches all the way into town and then beyond. The sea feels warmer than the air but is welcomely refreshing to break the midday sun. Every hundred meters or so down the beach another rest-o-bar mellows in the sunshine.
There are kitesurfers on this beach. The wind is perfect - consistent and gently increasing through the afternoon. I have to come back with my kite equipment. It is so perfect for kiting!
Arambol town is 15 minutes walk along the beach or 5 minutes on scooter through the back streets. The back steets are little more than dirt tracks. Everyones houses seem to mix together, intermingled with the occassional field or shop. Scooters are the most popular means to travel. Use of the horn is vital at all and any opportunity. Great care and attention also highly advised - these people don't hesitate to take your life into their hands. With the scooters we were able to travel up and down the coast a little and see the beautiful scenery that seems to be everywhere here.
After a week in Arambol, Goa, we are now off to Hempi to see some more wonders and apparently stunning scenery. 8 hours on the train, sleeper class - actually suprisingly comfy :-)